BLET News
Freight railroads must keep two person crews, according to new federal regulation
Major freight railroads will have to maintain two-person crews on most routes under a new federal rule that was finalized Tuesday. The Federal Railroad Administration released the details of the rule Tuesday morning, after working on it for the past two years.
BLET seeks to represent workers at Arizona Eastern Railway
On March 26, the BLET filed an application with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to secure union representation for 21 workers at the short line Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER), a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary. During a recent organizing drive, the BLET obtained...
Celebrating Women’s History Month: Civil Engineer Olive Dennis an innovative pioneer with Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Olive Dennis (1885-1957) was an American engineer whose design innovations changed the nature of railroad travel. In 1920, she became only the second woman to obtain a Civil Engineer degree from Cornell University. She was hired by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to...
Celebrating Women’s History Month: Workers-rights advocate Frances Perkins was first woman to hold presidential cabinet level position
Frances Perkins (1880-1965) achieved prominence as the first woman ever to serve in a presidential cabinet. She was appointed United States Secretary of Labor by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. In addition to being the first woman, she is also the longest serving in...
“No one should die at work,” VP Verna tells House rail safety roundtable
On March 13, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Rail Subcommittee hosted a roundtable discussion to examine safety issues in the railroad industry. BLET Vice President & National Legislative Representative Vince Verna represented BLET. During his...
Get Involved: Unions are Not a Spectator Sport
This fall, the BLET will hold elections for all Local Division Offices. The process kicks off with nominations being held at each Division’s first regular meeting in September. All eligible members are encouraged to run for office. The IBT Constitution provides that...
End of An Era: Amtrak General Chairman Mark Kenny retires
Division 11 Member Mark B. Kenny retired on December 31, 2023, bringing an end to more than a quarter century as Chairman of the Amtrak/KCS/VRE/Caltrain General Committee of Adjustment. Brother Kenny was elected to seven consecutive terms as General Chairman (1998,...
Registration now open for BLET’s Kansas City regional meeting
Registration is now open for the BLET’s Western Regional Meeting, which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, the week of June 3, 2024. Guests will stay at the Marriott Kansas City Downtown (200 West 12th St., Kansas City, MO, 65105, telephone: (816) 421-6800)....
Arkansas: BLET members ratify new contract with Missouri & Northern Arkansas
On March 20, a majority of BLET members ratified a new contract with the Missouri & Northern Arkansas Railroad (M&NA) by a vote of 42-10. The on-property agreement governs rates of pay, benefits, and work rules for approximately 57 operating employees. The...
Utah: BLET members ratify new agreement with Utah Railway
BLET members ratified a new five-year contract with the Utah Railway on March 20. The agreement was ratified by a vote of 30-6. It governs rates of pay, benefits and work rules for approximately 42 operating employees. General wage increases will total 41% (46.7%...
BLET mourns the sudden loss of D.C. Office staffer Carlos Barrett Sr.
The BLET and IBT family were shocked and heartbroken by the sudden passing of Carlos Barrett Sr, who was tragically killed on March 15 in a hit-and-run accident in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He has worked as the Administrative Assistant at the BLET National...
Annual meeting: BLET General Chairmen’s Association
The BLET’s National General Chairmen’s Association (NGCA) held its annual meeting at BLET National Division Headquarters on March 20. The General Chairmen exchanged important information regarding the upcoming round of national contract negotiations and conducted...
New Jersey: Ray Vigil reelected State Legislative Board Chairman
Brother Ray Vigil was reelected Chairman at the New Jersey State Legislative Board’s quadrennial meeting on March 12, 2024. A Norfolk Southern locomotive engineer, Brother Vigil is a member of BLET Division 226 (Newark, N.J.). He was elected 1st Vice Chairman in 2020,...
Celebrating Women’s History Month: Eliza Murfey invented early train axle lubrication technology
Eliza Murfey was an 1800s American inventor who focused on the mechanics of railroads. She created a device, called packing, that was used to lubricate a train’s axles with oil. This helped to reduce derailments caused by seized axles, an important safety innovation....
Rail unions hold major rally to urge passage of Railway Safety Act
A fellow Rail Conference member from the BMWED (wearing red) joined BLET members (from left to right) Ulises Flotte, Div. 20, Ryan Snow, BLET California State Legislative Board Chairman, Jerry Padilla, Div. 660, and Jacob Klatt, BLET Div. 126, at the rally in Los...
Virginia: BLET seeks to overturn governor’s veto of two-person crew bill
Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin vetoed a two-person crew bill on March 8, but the fight isn’t over yet. BLET Virginia State Legislative Board Chairman Tim Craver said supporters of the measure are seeking to enlist enough members of both chambers to overturn the veto....
Autonomous rail technology “not ready for prime time,” Verna says
Actual photos of autonomous rail equipment differ significantly from the computer-generated imagery widely distributed by manufacturers. (BLET photo taken during 2022 demonstration in Culver City, Calif.) __________ BLET National Vice President Vince Verna reiterated...
Keep up the pressure: Tell your Senator to reinstate full railroad unemployment and sickness benefits
BLET members have sent more than 2,500 messages in support of the bipartisan REEF Act (S. 1274) to members of the United States Senate since the bill was passed by the Senate Budget Committee on March 6. The Railroad Employee Equity and Fairness Act, or the REEF Act,...
Save the Date: 2024 BLET regional meetings
The BLET National Division is pleased to announce the dates and locations of this year’s regional meetings. The Western Regional Meeting will be held in Kansas City, Mo., from June 3-7 at the Marriott Kansas City Downtown (200 West 12th St., Kansas City, MO, 65105)....
Amtrak: East Coast service boost is welcome news, but BLET says other route improvements are necessary
In a report published by Reuters on March 4, Amtrak said it will boost passenger services on the East Coast as it aims to double ridership nationwide by 2040. BLET General Chairman Patrick W. Darcy Jr. welcomed the news but said improvements to the rest of Amtrak’s...
Daily Headlines
TCRC raises safety concerns following 3 B.C. derailments in less than 2 months
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents more than 9,000 rail workers across Canada, is raising concerns about safety following three freight train collisions in B.C. in less than two months.
AAR: Rail traffic up during week ending February 17, 2024
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 474,226 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.7 percent compared with the same week last year.
FRA says Norfolk Southern must focus on safety despite investor activism
The head of the Federal Railroad Administration on Wednesday urged Norfolk Southern to focus on safety after a group of activist investors proposed replacing the company’s top management.
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference warns that work stoppage looms after CN, CPKC seek conciliation
Teamsters Canada president Francois Laporte said demands by Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. are “non-negotiable.”
President Biden visits East Palestine, calls derailment “an act of greed”
President Biden visited the small Ohio town of East Palestine on Friday, a little more than a year after a Norfolk Southern train derailed there and spilled hazardous chemicals. “Let me be clear. While there are acts of God, this was an act of greed that was 100% preventable,” he said.
FRA releases long-distance study interim report, invites comments
Fifteen new or revived long-distance routes are presented in a new Federal Railroad Administration presentation to accompany the next round of meetings for its ongoing Amtrak Daily Long-Distance Service Study.
FRA issues safety bulletin on rolling equipment after death of BLET member
The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a Safety Bulletin warning rail workers about the dangers of rolling equipment following the death of Norfolk Southern locomotive engineer and BLET Division 423 member Chris Wilson at a rail yard in Alabama last week.
CSX worker dies in North Carolina after being struck by moving equipment
An investigation is underway after a CSX worker was killed on the job Tuesday in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.
NTSB investigates Ohio Central RR employee fatality
NTSB investigators have begun conducting observations and interviews regarding the fatality of a Ohio Central Railroad signal maintainer.
CPKC lags peers in offering sick time and now some dispatchers will have to forfeit it
ATDA President Ed Dowell said CPKC “exploited its merger as an opportunity to strip sick leave benefits from some of its most safety-critical employees.”
